Museums in the metropolitan area
The Helsinki metropolitan area has a diverse selection of museums.
Ateneum Art Museum is the national gallery of Finland. Through its exhibitions and other activities, Ateneum promotes knowledge and appreciation of the visual arts and Finnish cultural heritage. Even the Ateneum building itself, inaugurated in 1887, is something of a national monument.
Located in the heart of Helsinki, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma offers you easy access to the most interesting and invigorating art of our time. Kiasma is an open forum for the exchange of opinions and a continuous redefinition of art and culture.
The National Museum of Finland presents Finnish life from prehistoric times to the present. The permanent exhibition is divided into six departments. The Treasure Troves present the museum’s collections of coins, medals and weapons. The Prehistory of Finland is Finland’s largest archaeological exhibition. The Realm tells of the history of Finnish culture and society from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20th century. A Land and Its People presents rural life in Finland before industrialization.
Helsinki City Museum records and upholds the intangible and material heritage and the built cultural environment of the Helsinki area. Visitors to Helsinki City Museum meet the lighter and darker sides of the city’s history, learn about the roots and cultural background of the people of Helsinki and reap experiences that enrich their lives.
The Finnish Museum of Natural History is an independent research institution functioning under the University of Helsinki. The collections, which include botanical, zoological, geological and paleontological specimens from all over the world, serve research in the fields of Biology and Geology as well as educational purposes.
The open-air museum of Seurasaari is located on a beautiful green island just a few kilometres from the heart of Helsinki. The island is a tranquil oasis in the midst of the city and at the museum the traditional Finnish way of life is displayed in the cottages, farmsteads and manors of the past four centuries that have been relocated from all around Finland.
Designmuseum is a specialist museum that selects and maintains a design collection. The museum is responsible for research and documentation in its field, and for holding exhibitions on design history and contemporary products. The museum also organizes international exhibitions on Finnish art and design.
EMMA is an art museum maintained by the Espoo Art Museum Foundation. Emma displays its own collections as well as changing exhibitions of contemporary and 20th century art from Finland and abroad.
Links:
Ateneum Art Museum Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma National Museum of Finland Helsinki City Museum Finnish Museum of Natural History Seurasaari Open-Air Museum Design Museum EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Text: Museums
Photo: John and Melanie (Illingworth) Kotsopoulos/ Flickr
Ateneum art museum (380 308)
